[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 64 (Thursday, April 3, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15874-15875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-8462]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 970318059-7059-01; I.D. 022197B]
RIN 0648-AI82


Fisheries off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; West 
Coast Salmon Fisheries; Amendment 12

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement portions of 
Amendment 12 to the Fishery Management Plan for Commercial and 
Recreational Salmon Fisheries off the Coasts of Washington, Oregon, and 
California (Salmon FMP). Amendment 12 to the Salmon FMP would include, 
as management objectives for the Salmon FMP, the NMFS jeopardy 
standards or the objectives of NMFS recovery plans for salmon species 
that are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered 
Species Act (ESA) and would eliminate from the Code of Federal 
Regulations a table that summarizes management goals. This proposed 
rule would implement that change. The intended effect of this rule is 
to ensure that ESA listed salmon are given proper consideration in 
formulating management measures under the Salmon FMP.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before May 
19, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed rule for Amendment 12 should be 
sent to Mr. William Stelle, Administrator, Northwest Region, National 
Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., BIN C15700, Seattle, 
WA 98115-0070; or to Mr. William Hogarth, Acting Administrator, 
Southwest Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, 501 West Ocean 
Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213.
    Copies of Amendment 12 (combined with Amendment 10 to the Fishery 
Management Plan for the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery (Groundfish 
FMP)), the Environmental Assessment (EA)/Regulatory Impact Review 
(RIR)/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) are available from 
Larry Six, Executive Director, Pacific Fishery Management Council, 2130 
SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 224, Portland, OR 97201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Robinson at 206-526-6140, 
Rodney McInnis at 310-980-4040, or the Pacific Fishery Management 
Council at 503-326-6352.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is proposing this rule based on a 
recommendation of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), 
under the authority of the FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The background 
and rationale for the Council's recommendations are summarized below. 
More detail appears in the EA/RIR/IRFA that the Council prepared for 
this action (see ADDRESSES).
    At its October 1996 meeting, the Council adopted a package that 
consists of Amendment 12 to the Salmon FMP and Amendment 10 to the 
Groundfish FMP. Amendment 12 would allow adoption of rules to permit 
retention of, but not sale of, salmon bycatch in Pacific Coast 
groundfish trawl fisheries under a monitoring program that meets 
certain guidelines; specify ESA standards as management objectives for 
salmon species listed under the ESA;

[[Page 15875]]

and update the Salmon FMP, without changing the FMP management 
objectives. Amendment 10 would authorize modification of the 
regulations governing the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery to allow 
retention of salmon bycatch as authorized under Amendment 12.
    A Notice of Availability for Amendments 12 and 10, inviting 
comments from the public, was published in the Federal Register on 
February 27, 1997 (62 FR 8921). Public comments on the proposed rule 
must be received by the end of the comment period on the amendments, 
April 28, 1997, to be considered in the approval/disapproval decision 
on the amendments.

Management Objectives for Listed Salmon Species

    Amendment 12 to the Salmon FMP would specify that the Council will 
manage ocean salmon fisheries consistent with NMFS jeopardy standards 
or NMFS recovery plans for species listed under the ESA. This portion 
of Amendment 12 is needed to bring the Salmon FMP into compliance with 
the March 1996 Biological Opinion issued under section 7 of the ESA, 
regarding the impacts of the Pacific Coast salmon fishery on salmon 
stocks listed under the ESA. The Biological Opinion's first reasonable 
and prudent alternative (RPA) requires the Council to adopt by October 
1996, and NMFS to implement by May of 1997, an amendment that includes 
ESA management objectives in the FMP. This portion of Amendment 12 is 
being implemented through this proposed rule.

Update of the Salmon FMP

    The Salmon FMP has not had a comprehensive update since 1984. The 
Council wishes to provide a comprehensive Salmon FMP that incorporates 
into a single document all of the amendments that have been made to the 
Salmon FMP since 1984. The updated Salmon FMP has been designed to be 
the operative salmon FMP, rather than an amendment to any existing 
document. It incorporates or references all the parts required for a 
complete Salmon FMP but contains only the operative language necessary 
to understand and implement the Council's salmon management plan. If 
approved, this updated, comprehensive Salmon FMP would be much easier 
for the public to review and understand for any future amendment 
considerations. This comprehensive Salmon FMP update also includes a 
summary of specific management goals for stocks in the salmon 
management unit, which allows NMFS to make minor modifications to the 
salmon regulations. The table of management goals that currently 
appears in the salmon regulations at Sec. 660.410 would be deleted from 
the regulations because it already exists in the Salmon FMP. In 
accordance with the current Salmon FMP framework procedure, future 
updates to stock management goals may be made without amending the 
Salmon FMP.

Future Proposed Regulations

Salmon Bycatch Retention

    The salmon bycatch retention provisions of Amendments 10 and 12 are 
not being implemented in this rule. These provisions would authorize 
regulations to permit groundfish trawl vessels to retain, but not sell, 
their bycatch of Pacific salmon under a monitoring program that meets 
certain guidelines. The Biological Opinion under section 7 of the ESA 
regarding the groundfish fishery requires monitoring of the groundfish 
fisheries for salmon bycatch rates, but the Salmon and Groundfish FMPs 
and associated regulations limit flexibility in how this is done, 
because they do not allow for retention of trawl-caught salmon. The 
monitoring program has operated under an EFP for the past few years, 
and this plan amendment allows the Council to adopt regulations to 
implement appropriate monitoring. The Council has not yet developed and 
proposed such a program, so no implementing regulations are currently 
being proposed in connection with this portion of the amendments. NMFS 
expects that the Council will submit a proposal to implement a bycatch 
monitoring program for the 1998 fishery.

Classification

    At this time, NMFS has not determined that the FMP Amendment that 
this rule would implement is consistent with the national standards of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws. NMFS, in making 
that determination, will take into account the data, views, and 
comments received during the comment period.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
the purposes of E.O. 12866.
    The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the 
Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 
the Small Business Administration (SBA) that this proposed rule, if 
adopted, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities as follows:

    The proposed rule would implement changes to the Fishery 
Management Plan for Commercial and Recreational Salmon Fisheries off 
the Coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California (Salmon FMP) to 
specify Endangered Species Act (ESA) standards as management 
objectives for salmon species listed under the ESA. It would also 
eliminate a table from the regulations that would be made redundant 
by Amendment 12.
    This proposed rule to specify ESA standards as salmon management 
objectives would bring the Salmon FMP into compliance with the March 
8, 1996, Biological Opinion on the impacts of ocean fisheries for 
Pacific salmon on stocks listed under the ESA. It formalizes in the 
FMP what was already required by the ESA. The elimination of the 
table is a housekeeping measure that has no substantive impact on 
the regulated public or other government agencies.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 660

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: March 27, 1997.
Charles Karnella,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 50 CFR 660 is proposed 
to be amended as follows:

PART 660--FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES AND IN THE WESTERN 
PACIFIC

    1. The authority citation for part 660 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    2. In Sec. 660.410, the section heading and paragraph (a) are 
revised, the table ``Summary of Specific Management Goals for Stocks in 
the Salmon Management Unit'' is removed, and a new paragraph (c) is 
added to read as follows:


Sec. 660.410  Escapement and management goals.

    (a) The escapement and management goals are summarized in Table 6-1 
of the Fishery Management Plan for Commercial and Recreational Salmon 
Fisheries off the Coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California.
* * * * *
    (c) The annual management measures will be consistent with NMFS 
jeopardy standards or NMFS recovery plans for species listed under the 
Endangered Species Act.
[FR Doc. 97-8462 Filed 4-2-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F